Sometimes we find ourselves on a roller coaster ride of emotions living out so many different situations both
with our own family and with our extended family in the Lord. And this
last 2 ½ weeks has been like this.
Two and a half weeks ago, our emotions
were of joy, excitement and thankfulness as we celebrated Paul’s half a century
of life – his jubilee year - and it was a beautiful celebration which started
with a dawn birthday surprise pig (the pig was the breakfast) with a lot of
friends and neighbors who woke Paul up at dawn with coffee, soup and
singing.....and ended with a quick family trip to Manila to for a few days
together.
This was Paul’s dawn
birthday celebration
with about 70 +
neighbors and friends.
This was on April 29,
at our family birthday
dinner in Manila.
From these happy emotions we were
plunged just two evenings later into the depths of tragedy and sadness. Maybe
you remember last year, in one of our February 2011 blogs, that we wrote about
Mark and Aysa losing their baby at birth. They got through this difficult time
– accepted this from the hand of the Lord, kept their faith and kept serving
Him. Earlier this year – on March 10 – God gave them another beautiful
baby boy, Marten (for March 10) and their joy knew no bounds! All of us
rejoiced with them.
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This is our precious friend Aysa on
baby Marten’s second Sunday at church.
But the tragedy happened last week
on Monday night the 7th of
May. God took
Marten’s life back with a sudden attack
of
what was either asthma or maybe a
problem with his heart.
Our hearts felt like they were being
wrenched out
of our bodies while we gathered around
Mark and Aysa
and listened to their agonized sobs and
wept with them.
And while the believers gathered
together to help bury the body of this precious little baby boy, another family
in the church here began their journey of grief as the Lord took our brother
Kukuy Bagas, one of the bible teachers, home to be with Himself after a 6 month
battle with liver cancer. So we’ve gone through two deaths in the church family
here and it has been a time of great sadness.
While still reeling under this sadness,
God blessed our church family here with last Saturday with a time to rejoice
through the recognition and laying of hands on two new elders in the church of
Colawingon. This five year old church plant has been done by the group effort
of many of the bible teachers - even Kukuy Bagas had a part - but one who has
had perhaps the greater part in the church planting effort is Ronnie Hanginan,
one of the elders from the Lapoc Church. So in the midst of celebration, in the
midst of tragedy and death and in the midst of the church leadership being
raised up..........Christ’s body here in the Lapoc area continue in the faith
and continue glorifying Him.
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